The Girl at the Harbour
by Unease
Summary: Oneshot - Dawn is left feeling empty after defeating the Pokémon League, and is hesitant to step into new waters. - GirlPowerShipping, (Cynthia/Dawn).


**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or anything related to it.**

Dawn's hands clutched the railing tightly, the cold spray from the water hitting the wall below dotting her fingers. The cold autumn wind blew lazily through Canalave City, ruffling her scarf and making the cold in her hands bite into her bones. It had been a year since she had challenged the Pokémon League and defeated Cynthia in a battle that had set her soul alight. She had won, barely, and completed the goal she had dreamt of since she set off from her home in Twinleaf, Piplup enthusiastically waddling after her, hopes of glory fresh in both their minds and forming an unbreakable bond.

So why did she feel so empty now?

She had done everything; she had done what so many aspiring trainers tried and failed to do. Now she had no sense of direction. She had spent the year after defeating the champion battling trainers who wished to prove their worth, yet no battle had set fire to the blood in her veins like the clash between herself and Cynthia had. The link between Dawn and her Pokémon was too strong for anyone to overcome, and they breezed through battles with relative ease. Now she spent her days travelling the Sinnoh region, its paths already well travelled by her, documenting Pokémon in her Pokédex long ago entrusted to her by Professor Rowan, the man who allowed her to begin her journey in the first place.

Had her journey ended? Had she done everything she wanted? Dawn pondered this for a few minutes, thoughts of adventuring to the other regions flashing through her mind. Nothing was stopping her. She could board a ferry right away and be off to other lands populated with different Pokémon, new challenges and new experiences. So why couldn't she bring herself to do so? One answer rang in her head.

She felt lonely.

Sure, she had everything she could ever wish for; she had her Pokémon, all of which were her best friends and were always ready to support her. She had her friends Lucas and Barry who were helping Prof. Rowan with his research and challenging the Battle Frontier respectively. She had her mom, who was always supportive, even if she was miles away from her daughter. But something was missing. Some_one_ was missing, and she could not bring herself to leave the region in which that someone currently resided, in the hope she may bump into them again.

Dawn sighed. Even if she did meet Cynthia, what would she say? What would she do? She hadn't seen the older girl for some months, both their schedules keeping them busy. Dawn knew that the flaxen-haired Champion had travelled to Johto to study some ruins, following her main passion and no doubt stunning every person who happened to see her into awe-inspired silence (Dawn didn't think that reaction to Cynthia's presence was exclusive to her) whilst Dawn herself had exhausted the Sinnoh region, learning every piece of mythology there was to know.

She looked over the water to the vast nothingness painting the morning horizon. What waited for her beyond the cold morning fog? To find out, she knew, she would have to overcome this... obsession. She could come back and visit Cynthia any time she liked, so why could she not purchase a ticket and sail into the unknown, just her and her Pokémon? She could not leave the girl who had helped her throughout her journey. The person whom had given her an egg, which later turned into her beloved Togekiss. The person that had slowly, piece by piece, stolen shards of her heart on every meeting.

Sighing once more, she released her grip from the railing, the blood in her hands struggling to circulate and heat the stiff muscles. Her breath turned to mist in front of her, a flock of Wingull flying overhead. _'To distant lands far from here',_ she thought, wishing she had the courage to follow them. Stuffing her hands in her pockets along with the idea of boarding a ferry, she closed her eyes to the sea and its promise of adventure.

"If I had a dollar for every thought you had in the last ten minutes, I think I would be a rich woman."

That voice. Dawn spun on her heel, almost losing her balance, giving away her clumsy nature. Cynthia looked every bit as beautiful as Dawn remembered, her long blonde hair gently swayed by the wind that was slowly becoming more prominent. The woman was dressed in her usual black attire, the only difference being in the chunky black knit scarf draped around her neck to keep the chill out.

"W-what are you doing here?" Dawn choked out, still shocked at the sudden appearance.

"I'm leaving for a while," Cynthia replied, a small smile tugging at her lips, "There is a tournament in a far-off region where the toughest trainers gather and battle it out. The victor I guess is the Champion of Champions. I have to take care of something before the ship departs though."

Champion of Champions? Dawn had no doubt that the woman could mantle that title, but she was biased, so how was she to know? The only thing keeping her in Sinnoh was leaving, and now there was nothing to stop her and her Pokémon leaving on a new journey of their own. Why did the idea settle so horribly in her stomach?

"I might leave too, maybe visit Hoenn and see what it has to offer." Dawn spoke, seeing something shift in Cynthia's grey eyes. If she had not been staring at the woman so intently, she would never have noticed it.

"I hope you like water, should you visit." Cynthia mused, obviously drawing from past experience. Dawn smiled nervously at the quip, looking down and removing her hands from her pockets to twiddle her fingers.

"I need a change." Dawn uttered, her heart rate increasing simply being in the presence of the ex-Champion. Her palms began to sweat, and despite the cold air whirling around her, her body temperature began to increase to uncomfortable levels.

Cynthia nodded her head, another small smile gracing her face and said, "I think we both need a change."

She then stepped forward into Dawn's personal space and lifted the girl's chin delicately, as though she was a piece of precious porcelain. Dawn looked directly into the grey eyes that haunted her dreams and wondered for a second what in the name of Arceus was going through the woman's head until she was swiftly kissed, her thoughts silenced in one action. So _that's _what Cynthia had to take care of.

Nothing mattered except for the awareness of soft lips pressing against her own and the indescribable feelings that accompanied such an act. When the blonde pulled away, Dawn wanted nothing more than to dive back into that warmth the woman provided.

"I've liked you for a long time, Dawn. When we first met I knew you would become a problem."

"A problem?" Dawn quizzed, too dizzy from the kiss to decide whether to be offended or not.

"I have never been affected by another person like I have by you. When you beat me at the Pokémon League, my biggest regret wasn't that I'd lost, but that I would never see you again. I thought you would leave Sinnoh sooner for adventure elsewhere," Cynthia responded, taking her hand from Dawn's chin, and not quite knowing where to put it, settled for returning it to her side, "of course, you stayed, but we haven't seen a lot of each other."

Dawn smiled, and for the first time in a long time, it was genuine. She reached shyly for the woman's hand, holding it in her own. She softly murmured, "I could never leave without you."

"Come with me, Dawn," Cynthia whispered, pulling the girl into a close embrace, "Let's go together."

Dawn simply nodded in reply, burrowing further into Cynthia's arms, tears pricking at her eyes, finally feeling as though she belonged, ready to follow her guiding light out of the abyss in which she had been lost for so long.

"How did you know I would be here?" she asked, voice trembling with emotion.

Cynthia pulled back to look the girl in the eyes, "I asked a certain blonde-haired boy about you. He said you spend most of your days looking out over the sea in Canalave City looking pensive. I figured I would find you here before the ferry leaves, and I would be able to try my luck with you."

"Oh trust me," Dawn retorted, feeling more confident, "luck had nothing to do with this."

With that, she pulled the taller woman down for another kiss, unable to stop smiling and breaking the kiss early. _'But that's fine,' _Dawn thought, _'there will be lots of time for this.' #_

Later in the morning, the two stepped foot onto a ferry and departed to new horizons and new adventures. But as both of them later reflected, it was the journey of their hearts that would be the most fulfilling.

_End_

**The idea of this fic had been floating around in my mind for a long time, and I eventually had to write it because otherwise it wouldn't leave. It isn't perfect, but it will do for cleansing my mind of the idea! This is my favourite ship, and there aren't enough stories about them.**

**x**


End file.
